


Happy New Year

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: The High School Series [9]
Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Gen, High School, Kissing, Meteor freak stories, New Year's Eve, Secret Relationship, Teasing, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23985421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Chloe and Oliver grow closer on New Year's Eve and make an important decision about the direction of their relationship.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: The High School Series [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728691
Kudos: 1





	Happy New Year

Oliver grinned as he made his way to the front door of the Luthor mansion when the doorbell rang that afternoon. It was New Year’s Eve day and he was looking forward to spending the evening with Chloe. He was even in the process of cooking dinner, something he rarely got the chance to do. Something he actually enjoyed. He opened the door and flashed a bright smile at her. “Hey, Gorgeous.”

“Hey,” she grinned brightly as she made her way inside without hesitating. She’d been coming to the mansion a lot since Christmas, and she’d been seeing even more of Oliver whenever she could, between long afternoons at the mansion and working with him at the soup kitchen, they were seeing each other at least a couple of hours a day, but it still didn’t feel like enough.

“What’d you tell your dad?” he asked curiously, shutting the door and locking it once she was inside.

“That I was hanging out with some friends,” she said, grinning a little. “He has a bowling tournament so he was glad I wasn’t going to be home on my own.”

He relaxed, nodding. “Cool.” He slid his arms around her waist, dipping his head and kissing her quickly on the lips.

She kissed him back and grinned up at him once she pulled back, her arms staying over his shoulders, “maybe we will get lucky and there will be another snow storm.”

“Never know.” He smiled back at her, his eyes bright. “So, I hope you’re hungry.”

“Smells really amazing,” she said, glancing toward the kitchen then back at him, “but I hope you know I didn’t came here for the food.”

“I know. But...I like cooking and we do have to eat so.” He arched his eyebrows.

“What did you make?” She asked, cocking her head.

“Italian,” he told her. “Lasagna and garlic bread and tiramisu.”

“That sounds awesome, and you made all of it yourself?” She asked, watching him closely.

“Yeah,” he admitted, nodding.

Chloe smiled and shook her head, holding his gaze, “I still can’t figure you out, Oliver Queen.”

“Well, maybe you’re not supposed to.” He grinned. “You know. Don’t wanna kill the mystery.”

“Don’t,” she smirked, “I’ll figure it out eventually, it’s my mission.”

“Is it?” He cocked his head to the side. “I thought it was just to use me for my body,” he teased.

“That’s a side effect.” She pointed out, chewing on the inside of her mouth.

“Oh, is it?” He smirked, dipping his head and kissing her neck.

Chloe laughed softly and closed her eyes, then pulled away, grinning. “I thought you were going to feed me?”

“I thought I’d feed myself first,” he answered, chuckling.

“What are you, a vampire?” She asked, mostly joking.

“I’m more of a flesh guy than a blood one,” he teased, reaching out and taking her hand.

Chloe squinted, wrapping her fingers around his, “cannibal, then? Is this a Hannibal Lecter scenario where you invite me for dinner and I’m the dinner?”

“Yep, exactly. Now you’re onto me. Solved the mystery.” He tugged her hand gently toward the kitchen.

She followed him and sighed softly, “figures. I should have known you were going to try to kill me too.”

“Too?” he echoed, arching his eyebrows. “Who tried to kill you before now?”

Chloe looked at him for a moment then shook her head a little, “Smallville is a really weird place.”

“That doesn’t really explain the whole ‘try to kill’ you comment,” he told her, leading her into the kitchen.

“I don’t know if you’re ready for it.” She admitted, looking around once they reached the kitchen area. “I don’t want you to think I’m crazy, either.”

He gave her a look and motioned to the island where a couple of bar stools set. “I think I know you better than that, Chloe.”

She considered that for a moment, “you know the Wall of Weird, right?” Or what was left of it anyway, after the Torch was attacked. She still had articles she hadn’t been able to find a duplicate of.

“Yeah, you said it had something to do with the meteor shower that happened a few years back?” He arched his eyebrows and moved over to the stove to check on the lasagna.

Nodding, she took a deep breath as she sat down on one of the bar stools. “The meteor rocks aren’t just like regular rocks,” she said quietly, “they do something to people.”

“Like what?” There was uncertainty in his voice as he glanced back at her.

Chloe took a deep breath, considering her words carefully, “they... can give people abilities. Like, super human abilities.”

Oliver blinked a couple of times. “Super human abilities,” he echoed.

“I know how it sounds,” she said, “but I’ve seen people doing crazy things before. I mean... you saw what the jocks were doing with the meteor rock laced steroids. That was just a small dose of it.”

“So that’s what they were pumped up on? Meteor rock?” His eyebrows shot up.

“Pretty much.” Chloe nodded, “it usually doesn’t work just by coming into contact with it, though. Most of the time, it involves an extreme situation, like being stung by hundreds of insects or being hit by lightning while in contact with the rock.”

“...and those things have actually happened?” he asked, staring at her.

She held her breath and nodded again, holding his gaze, “there’s a whole lot more, other cases, people with different powers.”

“Well, what kind of powers are we talking about?” he asked curiously.

“Well, bug boy could kind of control bugs, make them do whatever he wanted them to. There was a girl who could control bees, but then they turned on her and... that didn’t end up too well for her.” She paused, “a guy I knew was in an accident, he liked drawing but he had nerve damage in both hands so he could move things with his mind.”

Oliver reached over and turned the oven off, rubbing his hands over his face. “That’s nuts.”

She shifted uncomfortably on her seat when he turned away from her, “told you.”

“No, not...I don’t think you’re nuts, Chloe, just the whole...that’s all really weird. You know? It’s nuts. Not you.”

Chloe arched her eyebrows a little and nodded, but decided against giving him anymore information for the time being.

Oliver looked back at her once more. “So is that who tried to kill you? Bug boy and bee girl and the dude that could move things with his brain?”

“Well, more directly the guy who tried to move a chainsaw toward my brain.” She said, wincing a little, “also, the one who could split himself into two and tried to kill both me and Lana by throwing us off a dam.”

He stared at her. “You’re not kidding.”

She shook her head a little, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip.

“Jesus, Chloe. A chainsaw?” He took a step away from the oven and toward her, eyebrows furrowing with worry.

“It was a while back,” she assured him, shrugging slightly, “he didn’t actually hurt me.” And if the worry on his face was anything to go by, she figured she probably shouldn’t tell him about being buried alive.

“Still.” He frowned deeply and reached out, touching her cheek.

She let out a breath, staring up at him, “I was okay, I am.” She said quietly, “but... you will want to be careful, especially considering all the fights you pick.”

“Don’t suppose you know anyone in particular I should avoid in order to not get my ass kicked. Or...stung by a billion bees.”

“No one I know of right now,” she admitted, “the abilities are usually temporary.” Chloe paused and cocked her head, “but here’s a plan: stop picking fights?”

“I can’t make that promise,” he told her honestly.

Chloe sighed a little and nodded, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” She said sincerely, “or kicked out.”

Oliver’s expression softened and he nodded, too. “I’ll be careful,” he said quietly.

“Good,” she smiled softly, “and if I hear about another meteor freak, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Yeah? The very first?” He smiled back at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You’re even worse about the whole getting in trouble thing than I am, so yes, the very first.” She said, smirking.

“Then I guess that makes us an interesting pair, doesn’t it?” He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

“Maybe we can keep each other out of trouble?” She teased, not believing that for a second.

He chuckled. “Or get each other into more of it.”

Chloe grinned brightly and nodded, “sounds more like it.”

Oliver kissed her softly, then turned and moved toward the oven once more. “All right, are you ready for the best lasagna you’ve ever had?”

“I’m ready,” she said, getting down from the stool, “need help with anything?”

“If you wanna grab some glasses from that cupboard,” he said, pointing to it as he grabbed the lasagna with oven mitts.

She made her way over to the cupboard and picked up a couple of glasses, “I could have brought something...” she offered even though she had no idea what.

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” he assured her. “We have plenty of stuff here.”

Chloe nodded, setting the glasses on the table, “maybe after dinner we can go exploring again,” she suggested, arching her eyebrows.

“Yeah, we never did find your secret passage.” He grinned.

“Just possible ghosts.” She said, smirking back at him, “let’s go look for a blueprint this time, though. Before we get spooked.”

“If there are blueprints, they’d either be in the study or the library.”

“Oh, the study,” she said, smirking, “see if we can uncover Lionel’s deep, dark secrets while we’re there.”

“I’m not sure there’s enough time for that,” he said wryly.

“I thought they weren’t coming back until next week,” Chloe frowned, cocking her head a little, “of course that’s not enough time to dig skeletons, but maybe we can find out where he’s hiding them?”

“I just meant he probably has so many we couldn’t possibly ever uncover them all,” he admitted, grabbing a couple of plates from the cabinet.

“No arguments there,” she said, watching him as he moved around the kitchen, “although I guess as long as he’s leaving you alone, that’s a start, right?”

“Well, he can’t do much when he’s not here,” Oliver pointed out.

Chloe chewed on her bottom lip for a moment then nodded, “when he comes back, you can hide at my house.”

“In your bed?” His voice grew light and teasing once more. He didn’t really want to talk about Lionel because everything related to Lionel brought his good mood down.

She paused at that, then grinned a little, “depends.”

“On what?” He waggled his eyebrows playfully, cutting into the lasagna.

“If you kick.” She cocked her head, “if you’re a blanket stealer. A bed hogger...”

Oliver chuckled. “I don’t think I kick. And cuddling will be warmer than blankets anyway.”

“You’re a cuddler?” She asked, cocking her head and doing her best to act cool with this. Not like she had ever slept with a guy before, not like this anyway. Passing out at Clark’s barn in the middle of the afternoon didn’t exactly count.

“You’re not?” he asked uncertainly, dodging the question.

Chloe considered that for a moment, how the hell was she supposed to know? “Depends on how cold or hot it is.”

“Fair enough.” Oliver nodded a little.

She frowned a little, chewing on the inside of her mouth. There was a lot she wanted to know about him, about people he’d slept with but for once, she wasn’t sure how to ask. “Have you brought a lot of people from school over?”

“Here?” he asked, confused for a moment. “You’d be it.”

“Oh,” she said, arching her eyebrows a little.

“You seem surprised.” He gazed at her.

“Well, you hang out with a lot of people.” She told him as casually as she could manage, “I just figured at some point some of them would have been over.”

He considered her for a moment, dishing some lasagna out onto her plate, and then onto his own. “I don’t really have friends here. Other than you,” he said quietly.

Her chest tightened a little at that and she pursed her lips together, “you could, if you wanted.”

Oliver looked down for a moment. “Yeah. But...” He shook his head a little and set some garlic bread on her plate, then set it down in front of her.

“But?” She echoed, focusing on him rather than on the food he had set down.

But if Lionel didn’t somehow find out that he and Chloe were seeing each other, that in and of itself would be a miracle. If he started actually making friends here, he was sure the older man would find a way to ruin that, too. “It’s just...not a good idea,” he said carefully, sitting down across from her.

Her chest tightened a little and she nodded slightly. Because he was leaving. In less than a year he would probably be off to California anyway, so there really wasn’t a point in making friends. Instead of saying anything, she pulled a piece of her garlic bread and took a bite.

“Lionel has a way of screwing things up,” he said softly, not looking at her as he took a bite of lasagna. “It’s why we have to be really careful.”

Chloe frowned a little at that and looked over at him, “meaning?”

“Meaning, we need to remember what happened the last time we were in public together and Lionel found out about it.” He pursed his lips, avoiding her gaze.

Right. Lionel ruins lives. He nearly ruined her dad’s and he was right, she couldn’t risk getting caught up in this and not worrying about the consequences. “I guess it will be safer for everyone if no one knows.”

Oliver nodded slightly, holding his breath for a moment and then letting it out slowly.

“It’ll probably be better anyway,” she said, cutting a piece of her lasagna, “no gossip at school, no worrying from my dad...”

“No bad publicity for you,” he added quietly.

“I’m not worried about that.” She said sincerely then smiled a little, “most of the school already hates me anyway. They always have.”

“Well, then I don’t think I’m interested in being friends with most of the people at school anyway.” He looked up at her.

“Neither am I.” She said, holding his gaze. “But if you want a couple more friends, Pete and Clark are good choices.” She suggested, smiling slightly at him.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” he said, nodding a little. He wasn’t terribly excited about talking to Clark again, considering how Clark had reacted to him, although he couldn’t really blame the guy for being protective of Chloe.

“Okay,” she said, “and even if you’re friends with them, they don’t have to know.” She promised, arching her eyebrows a little.

Oliver shifted on his bar stool, nodding a little and taking another bite of his food, glancing over at her. “What do you think?”

Chloe looked at him for a moment then took a bite of the lasagna before nodding, “it’s amazing.”

His expression brightened at that. “Thanks.”

“The bread is really good too,” she said, smiling when he brightened.

“Well, the bread isn’t homemade, but...I don’t know how to make bread,” he told her with a grin.

“Still good, but not as awesome as the lasagna.” She grinned.

His smile widened and he ducked his head, taking another bite.

* * *

They had dinner, then they had dessert and Oliver decided to take Chloe back to the cellar. They didn’t hear weird noises, but he did find a bottle of whisky that he said would be the best one she ever drank. So they made their way back upstairs, to the entertainment room, where he was supposed to show her how to drink it.

She pulled her boots off to get more comfortable then looked over at him, “so, tell me all about it.”

“Tell you about what?” he asked in confusion as he poured them each a glass of the whiskey.

“The whiskey,” she said, walking over toward him, “how do you know it’s better than the others?”

“I’ve tried a lot of the others,” he admitted, holding the drink out to her.

“And you’ve had this kind before?” She asked as she took the glass.

Oliver nodded slightly. “Yeah, it’s one of the best kinds I’ve had.”

Chloe smelled hers for a moment then took a small sip. She frowned slightly then her expression softened. “Weird.”

“You think?” He took a small sip of his, as well.

“It’s... strong and then smooth.” She said, frowning a little before taking another sip.

Oliver smiled faintly and took another drink, too. “Yeah, that’s a good description.”

“I can’t decide if I like it or not,” she said, grinning a little, “but it should help with the cold weather.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. We just won’t overdo this time,” he suggested, taking another small sip and then setting his glass down. “Besides, there are other ways to get warm.” His voice was light.

“Oh, are there?” She grinned, cocking her head at him.

He grinned at her, nodding and winding his arms around her waist. “There are.”

She set her glass down too and grinned before wrapping her arms around his neck, “I wish you lived here on your own so we could hang out like this all the time.”

“Me too,” he admitted quietly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “But you know, I will someday. I mean, not here in this mansion, but when I’m old enough I’ll have a place of my own.”

“You mean next year.” She said, glancing down, “when you graduate.”

“Well, yeah.” He frowned at the look on her face, dipping his head to catch her gaze once more.

Chloe nodded a little and forced a smile on her lips. “At least you’ll be free from Lionel.”

“He won’t be able to do anything to me if I disobey,” he said quietly.

“And that’s good,” she nodded a little, “and he won’t have any power over you or your money and you can do whatever you want.”

“And that means I can see whomever I want, whenever I want.” He smiled at her, pulling her a little closer.

Chloe nodded a little, chewing on the inside of her mouth as she held her hands together behind his neck.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said, searching her eyes.

She smiled a little and shrugged, then leaned in and kissed him. She didn’t want to sound like a crazy psycho by telling him she’d miss him when he moved away from Smallville, she didn’t even know if they would still be seeing each other then. There was no point.

Kissing worked, too. He returned the kiss without hesitation, leaning his forehead against hers as his eyes drifted shut.

Chloe relaxed when he returned the kiss then deepened it, brushing her nose against his as she cocked her head. She really liked kissing him, it made her feel like he really wanted to be there with her more than anything else and she never really felt that way before. She never really felt like someone felt that way about her before.

After a couple of moments, he pulled away in order to catch his breath, his eyes glazed over. He grinned at her. “Come on.” He tugged her toward the couch by the fireplace.

She licked her lips and smiled, reaching for her glass then smirking, “I think you wanted to get me drunk too, so we can’t forget this.”

“I don’t want to get you drunk, but it is New Year’s and I think that calls for celebratory drinks.” He picked up his own glass, leaving the bottle behind.

“I guess you make a good point,” she said, linking her fingers with his, “besides, you have no reason to get me drunk.”

“No, I don’t,” Oliver agreed. “Because I’m not that guy and...if and when we take that step, I don’t want you to be drunk when we do it.” He sat down on the couch.

Chloe sat down next to him on the couch and kissed his cheek, “I was just referring to making out and how I’m completely willing to do that with you, but good to know.” She smirked.

He paused, then grinned sheepishly. “Right. Yeah, I knew that.” He draped his arm around her shoulders.

She grinned mischievously when pressed her lips to his neck before pulling away and shifting so she was leaning against his side, “so do you have any New Years traditions?”

“Well, usually I spend them trashed, but this year’s special, so.” He leaned down and kissed her neck lightly.

Chloe shivered a little and smiled, shifting closer, “not getting trashed, check.”

“What about you? Any traditions I should be aware of?” He kissed her jaw.

“Well,” she brushed her nose against his cheek, “I’ve heard that kissing a hot guy at midnight brings you good luck for the new year.”

“Kissing me at midnight. Pretty sure I can accommodate that one.” He grinned.

“Looks like we’re all set then, you, me and your ego.” She teased.

Oliver laughed, finishing off his drink and setting the glass aside before sliding his other arm around her, as well.

She sipped on hers again then set it on the small table behind the couch before shifting closer as she bent her knees and pulled her feet on the couch, “what now?”

“Didn’t really have anything else planned. I just wanted to spend the holiday with you,” he admitted.

Chloe took a deep breath at that then wrapped her arm around his front, nodding a little, “that’s what I wanted too. And for you not to be on your own.”

Oliver smiled faintly at that and leaned his head against hers.

She closed her eyes and tightened her arm around him for a moment before relaxing, “when do they get back again?”

“In about three days,” he murmured, pulling her a little closer and exhaling slowly. “Right before school starts up again.”

“Good,” she smiled, closing her eyes as she relaxed against his side, “we have time, then.”

“We do,” he whispered, resting his chin atop her head.

“Maybe since my dad goes to work on the second, we should have you come over and see how quietly you can climb the window to my room,” she teased, grinning.

“Sounds like a challenge I can’t turn down.” He grinned back, arching his eyebrows.

“Practice makes perfect, right?” She said, lifting her head to look at him.

“That’s what they say,” he agreed, nodding a little, eyes full of amusement.

“We’ll have to test the theory,” she said, shifting closer and smirking as she held his gaze.

“It’s a good theory to test.” His gaze dropped to her mouth and he lifted one of his hands to cup her cheek.

She leaned closer and brushed her nose against his, “good, because I don’t like the alternative.”

“The alternative?” he echoed, distracted by her nearness.

“Not being able to make out with you, ever?” She teased, kissing him softly then pulling back to look at him. “Since no one can know.”

“Oh. Right.” He grinned sheepishly and kissed her back. “See, you’re just too damn distracting. I can’t think straight.”

“I’m okay with that,” she grinned, arching her eyebrows then kissing him once more.

He was okay with that, too. After all, thinking was seriously overrated.


End file.
